Electric-lighting regulator.



W. C. STARKEY.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1, 1914.

' 1,181,551. Patented M11312, 19111.

. fizue/ 223w wi/zea ea /7ZZZA Z/7& 6. JZZr/zey WILLIAM CARLETON STARKEY, 0F MANSFIELD, OHIO.

ELECTRIC-LIGHTING REGULATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1916.

Application filed August 1, 1914. Serial N 0. 854,496.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM O. STARKEY, a citizen of Mansfield, in the county of Rich land and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrio-Lighting Regulators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to automatic regulators for lighting systems, and more particularly to improvements in devices of this character especially adapted for use in car lighting systems.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved portable device of this character which will be simple, durable and reliable in construction and effective and eflicient in operation.

Other objects of my invention will appear hereinafter.

This application, except the subject matter of the last paragraph of the specification,

is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 560,390, filed May 9, 1910.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof and Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a typical car lighting system wherein my invention is par ticularly adapted for use.

In car lighting systems in general it is the practice to connect a number of (generally five) incandescent lamps in series and to bridge this series of lamps across the line. This is done because the line voltage is too high for a single lamp, and by connecting a number of lamps in series in this manner it is possible to use the ordinary stock incandescent lamps. On account of the varying voltage which is incident to the operation of electric railways, however, the efliciency of the lamps from a lighting standpoint is strongly aifected. It is well known that a drop of ten per cent, for instance, in the voltage will decrease the lighting efficiency of an incandescent lamp about 47 per cent. In consequence, in car lighting systems where a number of lamps are connected in series a drop in voltage will render the current passing through the lamps insufiicient for the proper illumination of all of the lamps, whereas, that current might be sufficient for the proper illumination of a less number of lamps in the series.

In accordance with my invention I provide a regulating device which may be read ily connected in the circuit and which will operate to shunt or short circuit one or more of the lamps in the series so that the remaining lamps will receive a proper amount of current. It is customary to distribute terminals for the several lamps around the car in the form of ordinary sockets into which the lamps are screwed so that they may be readily replaced or renewed. It is my purpose to provide a small unit portable regulator device which can be screwed into any one of these sockets in place of a lamp and which preferably will carry a lamp socket itself into which the replaced lamp is inserted. This device is arranged to be responsive to predetermined variations in the voltage of the circuit for the purpose of varying the number of lamps in the circuit in accordance with said variations of voltage. I prefer that this regulator shall be arranged to effect the operation of the par ticular lamp associated with it, that is, which is carried in its socket. Thus any number of these unit regulators may be used in a circuit according to particular circuit conditions, since they are each independent of the other. It will be found, however, that, generally speaking, one regulator will be all that is necessary in the ordinary five lamp in series car lighting systems.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 3, which diagrammatically illustrates a typical five light circuit, the conductor 10 leads from the trolley pole or third rail connection to ground and includes the five lamps 11 and 111 in series, the conductors being inclicated as connecting one lamp in the series with the next lamp in the series. In this series circuit I also include an electro-magnet 13 of any suitable type. This electro-magnet is preferably of low resistance so that the drop across its terminals is very slight. It will thus be seen that since this magnet is in series with the lamps it will be aifected by the current in the circuit. This magnet has an armature 17 which controls the contacts of a shunt circuit 31 and 32 around one of the lamps 111. Vhen the voltage is normal the magnet will be sufiiciently energized to hold its armature 17 away from the contacts of said shunt circuit and the current in the circuit will pass through all five lamps. Should the line voltage drop, however, to such an extent that there is not sufiicient cur rent in the circuit to properly light the entire five lamps the magnet will release its armature and thereby close the shunt circuit around the lamp 111. This leaves only four lamps and the relay in the circuit and the voltage at that instant, although below normal, will be sufficient so that said remaining four lamps will operate properly. \Vhen the voltage rises again the magnet picks up its armature, opens the shunt circuit and restores the shunted lamp 111 to the circuit. The electro-magnet 13 is designed so that it will release its armature at a predetermined drop in the voltage.

In order to render my regulator portable and convenient to handle, and to connect to or disconnect from the circuit, I prefer to make it in the form of a small compact unitary structure occupying substantially no more room than the ordinary incandescent lamp. For this reason I inclose the controlling magnet 13 in a suitable casing 40, preferably cylindrical in shape, and having insulating heads 41 and 42 threaded into its ends. Protruding from one insulating head 41 is a piece of insulating material 44 having a central rod 45 forming a conductor, and having a sleeve or casing 43 adapted to serve as another conductor. This protruding portion is preferably formed substantially like the butt of an ordinary incandescent lamp so that it may be readily inserted into or withdrawn from any of the ordinary incandescent lamp sockets 55 such,

as before mentioned, are distributed in thecan In accordance with this plan the shell 43 is threaded to conform to the threads of the lamp socket and it terminates at its inner end in such manner that a conductor may be connected to it. The central rod 45 terminates in a small flat head at its outer end which contacts with the central terminal in the ordinary lamp socket. The inner end of the rod is provided with means, such as a nut, for fastening a conductor to it. The magnet 13 is supported in any desired manner, such as by means of brackets 60 secured to the casing 40. The armature 17 of this magnet is pivoted at 61 to a post mounted in the wall of the casing 40 and this armature, when in the position shown in dotted lines, is intended to electrically bridge the two contacts 47 and 52. The conductor 31 leading from one terminal of the magnet is connected to the contact 52. The other terminal of the magnet is connected by the conductor 50 to the inner end of the threaded shell 43. A threaded sleeve or shell 49 projects from the end 42 of the casinga-nd is formed in the manner of an ordinary lamp socket so that the butt 65 of the incandescent lamp 111 may be screwed into it. This shell 49, as shown in Fig. 2, is electrically connected to the armature contact 52 by means of its lateral flange 53 on its inner end. The contact 52 is preferably formed by a screw 54 which extends through the a casing end 42 for the purposes of ad ustment, and which may be fastened in position -in contact with flange 53 by the nuts 56.

The armature contact 47 terminates in the bottom of" the socket in a flattened end which serves as a central terminalfor the lamp butt, it being held in position by the nuts 57, and said contact is connected by the conductor 32 with the inner end of the terminal member It will thus be seen that when the armature 17 bridges the con tacts 52 and 47, it closes a short circuit or shunt around the lamp and thereby diverts the current from the lamp, and when the magnet opens said shunt circuit the lamp 111 will be restored to the circuit in series with the other lamps. A leaf spring 58 may be used to assist in moving the armature toward the contacts when the magnet 13 releases it. This leaf spring is pivoted to a post 59 and its tension may be regulated by means of an adjusting screw 58*.

The conductor 31 may, if desired, be in the form of a fuse wire so that if the filament of lamp 111 breaks while the lamp is shunted, the arcing at the contacts will not reach a danger point because the head of the arc will meet the contact 52 and hence the fuse wire 31. The fuse wire 31 will melt and open the circuit.

I claim:

1. The combination of a lamp socket, a casing having a terminal member adapted to be inserted in said socket, a lamp socket carried by said casing, a lamp in said socket, a circuit including said terminal member, lamp socket and lamp, a shunt circuit around said lamp, and an electro-magnet continuously connected in said first mentioned circuit for actuating said armature to control said shunt circuit.

2. In a portable regulator, the combination of a casing having an insulating head at each end, a terminal plug carried at one end capable of insertion in a lamp socket, means at the other end forming a socket for receiving a lamp, an electro-magnet in said casing connected with said terminal plug and with said socket forming means, terminals for said socket forming means, and an armature controlled by said magnet for short-circuiting the terminals.

3. In a portable regulator, the combination of a casing having an insulating head at each end, a terminal plug carried at one end capable of insertion in the lamp socket, means at the other end forming a socket for receiving a lamp, an electro-magnet in said casing connected with said terminal plug and with said socket forming means, terminals for said socket forming means, an armature controlled by Said magnet for shortcircuiting the terminals, and a fuse cut-out associated with one of said terminals.

4. The combination of a casing, a lamp socket for receiving a lamp, an electro-magnet in said casing, means controlled by said electromagnet for short circuiting a lamp in the socket, and a cut-out associated with said means for disconnecting said magnet from said lamp socket.

5. The combination of a casing, a lamp socket for receiving a lamp, an electro-magnet in said casing means controlled by said electro-magnet for short circuiting a lamp in the socket, and a fuse cut-out responsive to the heat developed by the opening of said short circuit when a lamp has failed.

6. The combination with a lamp socket and a lamp therefor, of a plug, and a regulator interposed between the lamp socket and the plug, comprising an electro-magnet in a circuit between the plug and the socket, a shunt circuit for the lamp socket terminals, and an armature operated by the magnet adapted to close the shunt circuit for short circuiting the socket terminals.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 28 day of July A. D. 1914.

WILLIAM CARLETON STARKEY.

WVitnesses:

JOHN L. YOUNG, C. V. MARKs.

Copies of this patent may vbe .obtained for live cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Wsshington, D. C. 

